《 Skip a Beat 》

Guilty as charged

(Remember there's a month's time skip here, guys ;3)

Newt willed his breathing to calm.

His hands were clammy and shaking. He hoped his friends couldn't see, though he doubted it. It was only Tina, Leta, and Theseus today anyways. It didn't matter if they could tell he was scared. The white feathered quill felt like a weight in his hand.

He averted his gaze to meet his older brothers' steely blue eyes. Theseus nodded, a whisper of a smile playing on his lips.

Newt felt a grin spread across his own face. He wasn't afraid.

He scribbled out his signature on the yellow parchment, and dropped the quill next to it.

The nurse was watching him through black, thick-rimmed glasses. She gave him a sweet smile and tucked the quill and sheet of parchment away.

"Congratulations. I'll run this down to the doctor, then."

She whisked out the door, and Newt exhaled, sinking back onto the pillow. It was happening. Six months, and it was finally happening. He couldn't contain his smile. Six months, and he was finally going to walk again. No one was sure if it would work, but it was a wonder he'd even made it this far, or so Dr Mallord had told him.

Tina and Leta were speaking to each other quietly, while Theseus had sunk into the chair beside Newt's bed.

"Are you nervous?"

"Yes. A little."

Theseus nodded understandingly. Leta broke off the conversation and turned to face him. Newt suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"It's amazing though, isn't it? Dr Mallord can work wonders," she added. Everyone's agreements floated through the room, and the conversation was left hanging halfway.

Theseus, who had the best people skills out of the four of them, picked another topic before the silence became awkward.

"I was thinking, when you came home..." he began, then lifted his gaze to meet Newt's. His brother was watching him curiously, as if assuming he was coming home was out of the question. Theseus continued. "... we could fit another mattress into Tina's room... um- for Leta, I mean," he clarified quickly. "... and that would leave a spare bed in our room, because I don't care how much you protest, you aren't sleeping on a mattress."

Newt scowled.

"But that's-"

"Nope. No buts. You're not sleeping on a mattress."

"I don't-"

"Hush. Don't say anything else. You know I won't agree."

Newt recoiled, frowning. He knew his brother wouldn't agree, but it didn't make it any less annoying. "Theseus-"

"Shush. Why don't you go to sleep?"

Newt batted his brother away. The girls watched, amused expressions painted across their faces. Theseus had told them about his idea earlier, and Leta tried to tell him that Newt would never agree, but, unfortunately for her, her husband was as stubborn as his brother, and this conversation panned out exactly how she imagined it.

Tina had only been living with Theseus for six months, but you can learn an awful lot about a person in a short amount of time. Newt was one of the most stubborn people she'd ever talked to... until she met his brother. Tina wouldn't admit it in a hundred years, but the main reason she'd tagged along with Leta and Theseus was to see who was more adamant. Theseus won.